New Delhi:
Singer Sonu Nigam moved the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday seeking quashing of the cases registered against him for allegedly making offensive remarks at a Bengaluru music concert. The High Court has adjourned the hearing to May 15.
A complaint was filed at the Avalahalli police station against him for allegedly hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas. The Avalahalli police, which is investigating the case, has issued a notice to him and asked him to appear for questioning. The FIR, filed at Avalahalli police station, accuses Nigam of offending the Kannadiga community during his performance at East Point College in the city on April 25-26.
On Tuesday, the case was heard by a vacation bench led by Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar, and the court scheduled a further hearing for May 15. The FIR was lodged on May 3 in response to a complaint made by the pro-Kannada outfit Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and one of its members, Dharma Raj Ananthaiha.
The lawsuit claims that Nigam’s comments at the event compared an audience request to sing a Kannada song with the terrorist assault in Pahalgam, depicting Kannadigas as intolerant or violent. Ananthaiha alleged in his case that such utterances created considerable distress in the society.
Sonu Nigam has been charged under Sections 351, 352, and 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) with criminal intimidation, deliberate insult with purpose to provoke a breach of peace, and making words that may cause public disturbance, respectively.
The singer’s petition seeks to quash both the May 2 complaint and the May 3 FIR. As an interim measure, he has requested a delay on further examination into the matter.
The dispute arose when Sonu Nigam reportedly refused to perform in Kannada during a concert, resulting in a fight with a number of audience members.
In a subsequent video message released on social media, the musician clarified his position and defended himself, claiming that a group of youngsters at the event had angrily threatened him to sing in Kannada when he was performing Hindi songs.
Sonu Nigam ultimately issued a public statement declaring that he has a profound love for Karnataka and Kannadigas and that his statements had been misinterpreted.